Technical Field
The present invention relates to a fuel cell system activation method and a fuel cell system.
Background Art
Heretofore, there has been known a starting method in which at the time of activating a fuel cell stack, air is not supplied to a cathode when supplying hydrogen continuously to an anode to replace (purge) air that is present at the anode with hydrogen, and after completion of the activation accompanied by this replacement (purge), air supply to the cathode is started while an electrical load is connected to the fuel cell stack, to thereby generate electric power (for example, refer to Japanese Patent No. 4357836).
Moreover, heretofore, there has been known a method for starting a fuel cell system from a state where an anode and a cathode of a fuel cell stack are charged with air (for example, refer to Japanese Patent No. 4137796).
In this starting method, when activating the fuel cell system, first, while adjusting the supply flow rate of hydrogen so that no flammable ratio of hydrogen and oxygen will be contained within the recirculation flow path of the anode, hydrogen is supplied to the anode, to thereby form a state where hydrogen and air are mixed. Then, water is produced by a catalytic reaction between hydrogen and oxygen at the anode until oxygen is no longer present within the recirculation flow path of the anode. Next, supplying of hydrogen and air to the anode and the cathode is started at normal flow rates, and an electrical load is connected to the fuel cell stack, to thereby generate electric power. In this starting method, prior to the start of supplying hydrogen to the anode, an auxiliary load resistor is connected to the fuel cell stack without supplying air to the cathode, to generate electric power, and the cell voltage is maintained at or below a predetermined voltage until oxygen is no longer present within the recirculation flow path of the anode.